[meteorite-list] R5 information

From: dean bessey <deanbessey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:25:42 2004
Message-ID: <20030521160435.96126.qmail_at_web12303.mail.yahoo.com>

Yes, it is a valid discussion. An R5 is an important
and rare meteorite. When I sold mine late last year
almost nobody had it in their collection and I had
several institutions wanting some to. I am not sure
how 77 grams got listed in the met bulletin but my
stone was only 26.5 grams (And sorry, except for my
small 1/3 gram piece which I am keeping as an example
to compare it to in case more shows up I have none
left and I dont have any of Farmers R5 so I no longer
have an economic interest in the R5 - not right now
anyway).
As farmer indicated, it does indeed seem odd that two
rare R5s shows up at the same time. But they didnt
really show up together. I have had my R5 a year and a
half after a local in Morocco told me that he had a
new Lunar and would I be willing to get it classified
and split the proceeds with him. After agreeing he
sent me the 26.5 gram rock. Of course it wasnt a lunar
and had a little magnetism (Yes, even Rs have a little
magnetism if you look hard enough and have a strong
enough of a magnet) - Personally I thought that it was
a C chondrite after I say it with a very small
possibility of it being an LL6. So much for visual
guess.
It took me over a year to get it classified (Where are
those for profit classification services that was
being talked about a year ago - this inability to get
stuff classified is driving me nuts) and after getting
the classification I started selling it (It sold out
within a week and I had requests for more).
So the two R5s wasnt actually brought out of Morocco
at the same time. The new R only started coming out
around the beginning of this year. So if me and farmer
have the same one, it was sent to me for over a year
and the moroccans stockpiled it without trying to sell
any and only started selling it after I sold mine and
gave them the classification. Which I guess could be
plausable since if the moroccans thought that it was a
lunar (The moroccans seem to think that anything
magnetic like an LL or less is a lunar nowadays it
seems and want big bucks for it) and that they knew
that I was getting it classified for them that the
moroccans figured that it would be better to hold on
to it until I told them for sure what it was. That of
course is just a plausable scenario. I dont think that
this is what happened.
Also, mine does look nothing like the rest of the R5s
and was totally oriented and not a fragment. It doesnt
sound like the rest to me.
If mine is paired it would basically have to be a 26.5
gram inclusion that was a lot bigger before it melted
in the atmosphere.
But from photos mine does not look the same and my
customers of NWA1585 has said that side by side they
dont look like the same meteorite. Maybe I should grab
a piece of the new R5 as I havent seen the new one up
close myself.
Cheers
DEAN
www.meteoriteshop.com







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Received on Wed 21 May 2003 12:04:35 PM PDT